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The Weary Wanderer's Waltz

My breath came out in a soft sigh as I crested the final hill between me and the town of Grassviel, I hadn't realized I was holding my breath until then. That wasn't very surprising, returning here after so long made my paws heavy with trepidation. But the alternative... My head swiveled behind me as I regarded the untamed wilderness behind me. I knew all too well the nightmare that existed out there for someone far too weak to hold their own in battle alone. Grassveil was, above all else, a safe haven where there was little chance of invading someone else's territory. In a community, your only 'territory' is your own private house or room. Or at least that is what it should be. A shudder crept up my spine as the memory of the fight with that fierce houndour came unbidden to the forefront of my mind.

I shook my head violently, as if the motion itself could dislodge the troubled thoughts, and started down the trail. This was not an attempt to return to the past. This place had etched itself into my heart with the promise of a greater life, and I was coming back to commit to that life! Besides, I mused wearily, I am in desperate need of some personal TLC time. My legs felt stiff and my paws deliver dull complaints with every step I take. I don't want to even think about how long it has been since I took a proper bath, I may even need a proper water bath instead of the dust bath I would normally take that keeps the electric charge in my coat where it belongs. I probably looked as terrible as I feel, sticking out in this otherwise wonderful day like a sore thumb. What would normally be a dense vibrant neon green and electric yellow pelt has been distressed into stiff bristles the color of grass and gold. Topping this bedraggled look was a defense scarf tied around my neck, fraying at the edges but still holding up after all this time. Even if I could, I would not have wanted to take off the only memento of that buizel who had saved my life back then.

When I finally reached the edge of the town, I had to pause and chuckle at myself under my breath. I had been so focused on making it back to Grassviel that I hadn't given much thought to what I would actually DO once I got there. Now that it was time to do such, I could only stare mutely at the busy pokemon in front of me as I wrestled with that dilemma.

_________________Character record icons! >

Last edited by TraceNoil on Mon Mar 19, 2018 2:58 am; edited 2 times in total

Fate must have really hated that electric pokemon. As luck would have it, a familiar voice would rise through the crowd, though it would sound a bit...deeper. It was angered by the tone of it, upset with something as it cried, "Come on! You can't just refuse service to me!"

A meeker voice rose could only barely be heard, "I-I'm not open right now. P-Please, leave me alone..." The second voice was much softer; the tone of someone who was extremely uncomfortable.

The crowd would part ways just enough to allow the on comers to be seen. At the lead, a skiddo hurried along with a basket of berries in his mouth. There were two satchels on each side of his back, obviously weighted with items that prevented him from going any faster. Even if he could run for it, the creature that lurked behind him would have easily been able to catch him. Behind the grass type, a much larger darker creature stared down hungrily at the items. The beast was tall with round horns and a pointed tail. The skull on its chest was puffed out proudly with both pride and ego as the houndoom trotted along easily in pursuit of the grass type.

"All I want is an Oran Delight, is that too much to ask for!?" the houndoom growled.

"I-I'm not even at my kitchen," the skiddo's voice had become so quiet, that the houndoom, Zera, had not even heard.

"Hey, Cry-Baby, I'm talking to you!" the fire type continued to harass the grass type, seemingly unaware that he was having a negative impact on the skiddo's emotional state.

The skiddo was named Aries. He was the keeper of the to-goat shop. A pokemon that had faced particularly harsh times against Fire Type pokemon in the form of nearly becoming a sacrifice for some cult ritual. The poor lad was scared senseless, too mortified to stand up for himself and too shy to call for help. All he could hope for was that the houndoom would give up and go away. The skiddo could not just go back to his shop, however, as that would just let the houndoom know where he lived. Instead, he had decided to keep walking around Grassviel until he bored the dark type or until someone helped him.

The two seemed to be on a path straight for the electrike, both unaware of the electric type's presence. It would have been easy for them to literally bump into one another if Trace did not make some sort of effort to avoid the collision.

Ooc: Eeeevil... But I can't deny interesting. Also, sorry for taking so long to reply!

A low rumble sounding in Trace's stomach swiftly solved his indecision for himself. Thankfully the electrike managed to find enough poke out in the wilderness to buy himself some food. However it might be best if he didn't mention that he got the money from a long deceased explorer he had stumbled upon. The electrike assumed that whatever pokemon the explorer got in a fight with simply had no use for the money.

It was just as he was turning to the village proper that a dreadfully familiar voice reached his ears over the general hum of the crowd. The voice in question was deeper than what Trace remembered, but the tone granted an undeniable familiarity. A lance of ice punctured his heart, and he stopped in his tracks as his eyes widened to saucer levels. No, no, no of all people, why him?!?

The electrike was quivering as the Houndour broke through the crowd. Even though horned pokemon was paying more attention to the grass type by his side than the road, their path would have them quite literally walk into Trace. While the Skiddo may have reason to fear any fire type, That houndour had personally attacked him when he decided to claim Trace's home as his territory. The electrike had failed to even harm him during that encounter, and now look at them. Zera had flourished, evolved, but Trace was no stronger than he had been then. If anything, hunger and sleep deprivation made him even weaker!

Somewhere inside him, Trace recognized that the houndoom was harassing the shy pokemon, but Trace was too horrified of the thought of confronting the fire type to consider helping out. No, he needed to get away! Yet his body refused to move. Unfortunately, this was a very new experience for the electrike. He had always been threatened by some immediate danger, and that danger made it easy for him to flee. There was never an anticipation, and that fear left him rooted in the spot like a deerling in a thunderstorm. He felt trapped by his fear, and that only made it so much worse. As the two oncoming pokemon approached, Trace would barely force himself to shrink back from them. However it would be too little too late if they never noticed him.

Each step agonized the skiddo as the hound metaphorically nipped at his heels. He could hear the upset growls in his ear just before a snout pushed against his side. Fear struck through the skiddo and caused them to bolt forward suddenly. A startled bleat escaped his voice before the satchel on his back was suddenly snapped up. The skiddo struggled as he tried to flee, but the houndoom held fast to the sack."Hey-wait a second! Where you goin'?" the houndoom snarled through his teeth. Zera lifted the skiddo effortlessly in order to keep him from going anywhere. The skiddo flailed as his hooves attempted to find ground. A scene was caused as pokemon around them began to stare. Some shied away while those that remained stared with a morbid curiosity of what would happen next.

"P-Please!" The skiddo cried out.

The plea went ignored as Zera's attention was caught on a familiar face. His eyes locked onto the fearful gaze of the electrike. The fearful skiddo whined and shivered in its own terror, but the electric type had caught his interest. Still carrying the skiddo by its bags, he approached the cowering canine.

"You!" he demanded with an intensity that implied authority. His tone, he felt, made it certain that he was the alpha; He was in charge. "Why does your face look familiar?" he questioned the electric type. During his moment of distraction, the Skiddo managed to slip out of the straps. The grass type's hooves hit the soft ground but did not stop moving. He charged towards the electrike's direction with terror in his eyes.

"RUN!" he seemed to suggest to the electric type, but it was more of a command to himself than anything. The houndoom was startled by the skiddo's escape. Normally he would have been pleased to have been left with all the supplies of the skiddo, but something about the fear and sight of smaller pokemon in flight made him...gleeful. Prey on the run, it was just like he was in his pack again! The houndoom dropped the satchels and looked as if he were about to pursue...

The electrike flinched when the fire type addressed him. If he wasn't petrified, he would have laughed. Of course the ones with power give little thought to the ants they crush underfoot. But oh do the ants remember, and they quiver at even the memory. At least the houndoom seemed to vaguely recognize the electrike. That was something, but it was a thing he did not wish to be fully remembered. "M-me?" He stammered, starting to backpedal slowly away as the skiddo in the large canine's maw wriggled free. The crowd around them watched warily, waiting for someone to step in and stop the spectacle but never volunteering themselves as that someone. "You, uhh, I... I mean we..." Trace trailed off, trying to come up with some lie above flat denial to avoid the houdoom's suspicion.

It was then that the skiddo tore past him, and that pokemon's cry to run spurred Trace's own panicked retreat. One second he was rooted on the spot, and the next he was tearing away like someone has cracked his rear with a whip. Normally the electrike would have been able to run at full sprint to his heart's content, however he was that exhausted from his trek that he even lagged behind the fleeing skiddo ahead of him.

Trace's mind defaulted into his escape mode. He no longer thought about the wheres or the whys; all he needed to do was to keep on running. Keep on running and dodging his pursuer's attacks until he fled from their territory. The most important rule is to never be caught, but at least Trace had one trump card in case he ever did. He could already feel the electricity suffusing his coat, and he chanced a glance back over his shoulder to see just how close the houndoom is on their heels.

His heart raced as he struggled along. The electric pokemon he fled with trailed behind him, but he hardly noticed. The skiddo's eyes were wide with fear as flammable memories surfaced and burned into his mind. It took all of the skiddo's willpower to not freeze up and collapse in the instinct to play dead or faint. Honestly, it would have helped his situation. The houndoom only chased because they ran. The howl of the houndoom sent a chill down his spine that caused him to hesitate in his step, but still he pressed on.

"Go, Go, Go!" he whispered repeatedly under his breath to both himself and the electric pokemon. He was completely unaware of how close the houndoom was, but at this moment he did not want to know. The skiddo just wanted to be home, in his shop. Today was yet another day where he would not be open. He would curl up in his stock room and cry, just like the first day he came back to Grassveil, alone.

When the frightful canine looked back, it was easy to see that the Houndoom hardly tried to keep up with them. He loped along at an easygoing pace that allowed them to gain ground before he would burst forward with a bit of speed in hopes to scare them into going faster. The slowness of the skiddo and the tired Electrike made it easy for him to keep up, but he did not want to end the chase just yet. Even if the chase was a bit disappointing, he wanted to keep it fun. Their fear fueled him as he toyed with the prey.

When the canine looked behind them was when he burst forward with a higher speed, a stupidly wide grin upon his expression that clearly showed that he enjoyed this. "Come on!" the houndoom whined, "Can't you go any faster? This is hardly any fun!"

(So I recently found a way I can watch Rick and Morty online, sorry I kinda disappeared for a little while haha)

Apparently looking back was a big mistake, as that allowed him to witness the Houndoom's swift approach. He should have known the dark canine's lean and mean size would make him significantly faster, but seeing it cemented their reality. Trace and the grass type would not be able to distance themselves from their pursuer. Normally this would have been a simple thing to remedy for Trace, but being chased by something the electrike was afraid of shredded what calmness the action of running provided him.

Flipping out much like a startled feline, Trace leapt into the air as he screamed something out in the unique gibberish one accesses in a state of high panic. Weak blue arcs of electricity sparked out of the electric type, some of them lancing toward the houndoom but the majority of them firing off wildly. The pathetic bolts would do no significant damage, but the paralyzing attack would make it significantly harder for anyone struck to properly move.

Unfortunately, Trace did not have the mysterious ability felines know to always stick their landing. As such he had a particularly graceless re-acquaintance with the ground after his leap. For a few moments in his tumble, he was even sliding on his chin before the momentum of his rear flipped him over onto his back. Coins were dislodged from where the electrike was keeping them under the back of his head and glittered in the light as they scattered around him. He was dazed from the tumble, but he already started shaking off the dizziness. He needed to get up!